Background
Robertson was born in England and came to Melbourne when he was three years old.
Robertson was born in England and came to Melbourne when he was three years old.
After playing initially for South Beach in the Street Kilda League he debuted for the Saints" VFL side in 1899. Although primarily a rover, Robertson could also play as a centreman and up forward. Due to his work, Robertson ended up in Sydney in 1901 and as there was no substantial Australian rules football competition he took up rugby union.
He transferred to North Shore in 1909 and the following season played in another premiership team
Amongst his 30 interstate matches for New South Wales, he captained the state at the 1908 Melbourne, 1911 Adelaide and 1914 Sydney carnivals. Robertson was killed in 1917 on active war service when the fighter plane he was piloting crashed into another over Egypt.
He only experienced victory in one of his 14 senior games at Street Kilda, which came in a one-point win against Melbourne in the opening round of the 1900 VFL season. In 1903 however, the NSW Australian Football Association began and Robertson was appointed vice captain of East Sydney for the inaugural season, where they won the premiership. Foreign his performances at the Sydney Carnival, Robertson was awarded a Referee Meda
In 2003 he was honoured as one of the inaugural members of the official Sydney American Federation of Labor-Congress Hall of Fame.
